(CNN) - President Barack Obama blamed the "fiscal cliff" standoff in Congress for the contraction in the U.S. economy at the end of 2012 and weighed in on the safety of football in a pre-Super Bowl interview Sunday.

During the seven-minute live session with CBS host Scott Pelley, Obama said new concerns about the long-term effect on players "means the game is probably going to evolve."

(CNN) - Secretary of State John Kerry spoke with leaders from Israel and the Palestinian Authority, among others, during his first weekend on the job, according to a readout released by the State Department on Sunday.

The former senator from Massachusetts spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the country's recent elections and the Middle East peace process. He also talked to Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas about Israeli-Palestinian relations and vowed to continue efforts with Congress to send funds to the authority.FULL POST

(CNN) - Al Gore, environmental activist and former vice president, said he was "very pleased" to hear President Barack Obama pledge to combat climate change in his inauguration speech. He urged the president to "follow through" on his commitment.

"There are some actions he can take that do not require congressional approval," Gore said in an interview that aired Sunday on CNN's "Fareed Zakaria GPS."FULL POST

(CNN) - Robert Gibbs, former White House press secretary and senior adviser to the president's re-election bid, said Sunday that President Obama's nominee for defense secretary didn't perform too well during his confirmation hearing last week.

Gibbs, however, expressed confidence that former Sen. Chuck Hagel would be confirmed and would make "a good secretary of defense."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - The organizers of American Crossroads have formed a new super PAC called the "Conservative Victory Project," aiming to make sure Republican congressional primary victors can also win the general election.

As he does with other Crossroads groups, former Bush political adviser Karl Rove will advise this new organization, which will be led by Steven Law, the president of both American Crossroads and its advocacy sister Crossroads GPS.FULL POST

(CNN) - New Jersey's largest newspaper had some tough words Sunday for Sen. Bob Menendez as he faces allegations of improper travel and parties with prostitutes. The same paper endorsed the senator's bid for re-election three months ago.

An editorial in the Newark-based Star-Ledger said the accusations raised "serious doubts about his fitness to serve as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee" and argued he "needs to break his silence and explain himself."FULL POST